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Originally Posted by wizwor
I don't think a company or even an officer of a company can transact large sales/purchases in secret. Buy backs are a legitimate use of cash/stock. I paid off my 'readiloan' when GE tanked. That was a small scale buy back.
Your point about the value of a company is valid to a point. IP, patents, licenses, and even personalities (Steve Jobs) are part of the value of a company. There is speculation about future sales and success, too, but that's OK. Really, who buys a company/stock based on the value of its assets?
The thing is, if you look at Apple, a lot of that is gone. They have lost some of the perceived value of IP, patents, and licenses in court battles. Cook is not Jobs. People feel less positive about future sales as their customer base ages and low cost competitors get much better.
I don't know if $400 is the right price, but absent another amazing product, Apple is on the decline. People are talking about TVs and streaming boxes and watches. Those products will lead to a $300 Apple. They are not going to sustain historic margins competing with Roku and Amazon.
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I don't think a company or even an officer of a company can transact large sales/purchases in secret.
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Yet for 2 weeks, the public didn't know of the Buyback. I think that papers must be filed with the SEC but public notice doesn't have to be given immediately. (There are arguably valid reasons for this.)
For years Steve Jobs resisted buy backs just as he resisted dividends. You can see his stingy side in the movie "Jobs" where he lies to Woz and only gives him $350 for his work on the Atari game whereas he should have gotten half of $5,000. Later he nixes out founder shares for the technicians that helped him and Woz.
Your point later about GE is valid.
I too am long on GE, and like XOM which I mention elsewhere, GE is diversified with a sustainable long term life.
Apple is $517.35 today, as the "faithful" start to lose heart. Apple would have done better to raise the dividend. In a week or two that buyback effect will have vanished.